The Caribbean islands of San Andrés and Providence, officially part of Colombia but inhabited primarily by Afro-descendant Raizal people who speak English Creole rather than Spanish, have experienced significant disruption due to US military airstrikes targeting suspected drug-trafficking operations in the region.
Since September, the US has conducted bombing campaigns against speedboats allegedly carrying cocaine northward through the Caribbean and eastern Pacific. These operations have resulted in 215 deaths, which the UN has characterized as extrajudicial killings. The airstrikes have had a pronounced impact on the islands’ fishing communities, with at least 16 fishers reported missing since January. While some of the missing individuals may have been involved in drug trafficking, local leaders stress that others were engaged in legitimate fishing activities. The current pace of disappearances represents an unprecedented situation for the islands, according to Edgar Jay Robinson, president of the main local fishers’ association.
The US Southern Command has stated it has no information regarding strikes involving residents of the two islands, though critics have questioned the reliability of such denials based on previous statements regarding other bombing operations. Local residents and observers note that the US does not release detailed information about victims or operational details, making it difficult to determine what occurred to missing individuals. In at least one documented case, a family sent documents to Colombia’s embassy hoping to identify a missing relative among victims of a specific airstrike near Costa Rica, but their search proved unsuccessful.
The islands’ involvement in drug trafficking has historical roots stretching back decades, initially involving marijuana and later cocaine. Young Raizal men have increasingly been recruited by trafficking organizations despite the dangers and the recent escalation of military action. The airstrikes have created additional hardship for legitimate fishers, who now face the risk of being mistaken for traffickers. Some have altered their routines and report experiencing fear when considering ventures to sea.
Historians and legal experts point to nearly 700 disappearances across the islands over a 30-year period in previous decades, though no official data from Colombian authorities exists on the current situation. Local officials and observers argue the Colombian state has not given the issue adequate attention and that addressing the underlying causes—including economic opportunities for youth and drug policy reform—would be more effective than military action alone.
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